Weight of the World
by lovelywarriorprincess
Summary: After barely escaping their almost demise, two young girls show up in the small town of Storybrooke claiming to be the children of none other than Emma Swan and Regina Mills. With their time running short, Regina & Emma must put their differences aside to help their daughters get things back to normal in the future before the two girls soon become nothing more than a distant memory
1. Chapter 1

_**Okay so like I've seen a few future child traveling back into the past fanfictions for Swan Queen and I couldn't resist writing one for fun! This story is inspired from the many great people of the Swen nation :) And this is the first chapter so it might be a little blah but try it out and see if you enjoy it.**_

"Come on. Come on." The girl begged silently, biting down hard on her lower lip. She extended the wand in her hand once more, directing it downward in hopes of receiving a reaction from the wooden boardwalk below. When nothing happened she grunted out of frustration and threaded her fingers roughly through her dark hair. She has no idea what she's doing, all she knows is that she needs to get somewhere safe.

In the distance the trees were starting to sprout up from underneath the concrete, thick weeds were crawling on the buildings and covering the what's left of the town. A small whimper from beside her made the tense expression on her face gradually soften. The little girl standing at her side had tears streaming down her already flushed cheeks.

"Shh, Emmy." The older girl cooed, she bent down and ran the knuckle on her index finger back and forth gently across the smaller girl's wet cheek. "We'll be okay, I promise. We're going to be okay." Maybe if she repeated it to herself she would actually believe it. The growth of plants were getting dangerously close to the dock they stood on making the girl even more nervous.

"This stupid thing just needs to work!" She yelled, flicking the wand at the floor in one last attempt. Suddenly, the wand started to glow and it shook in her hand. She watched in surprise as purple vortex formed within the ground leading to their only chance at finding sanctuary.  
Making sure to waste no time, she scooped up the little girl into her arms and peered into the portal. "I hope this works." That being the last thing she said before jumping inside.

* * *

The streets were silent, only the sound of the wind rustling the fallen leaves on the concrete ground could be heard. The sky was a light shade of purple decorated with millions of tiny stars that shined down on the empty streets of StoryBrooke. It was odd seeing StoryBrooke, a place that gets cursed each month, so peaceful and quiet. Emma definitely didn't mind; the blonde is seated in her yellow Volkswagen with a newspaper and a cup of coffee that went cold long ago. This was part of being the Sheriff; you got to sit around and watch empty streets until midnight-especially since the whole Cora fiasco. Since then everyone has been on edge and wanted to feel safe.

Emma sighed, the newspaper in her hand fell into her lap, and she blinked her eyes a few times to keep the sleep out of them. "You would think something would happen at night." She muttered to herself. It seems that fairy tale characters enjoyed breaking the law during daytime which didn't make the slightest bit of sense but what more could you expect from characters out of a book.

Leaning her head back against the seat, Emma's eyes drifted closed momentarily leaving her other senses heightened. Not even a few seconds later did her ears pick up the sound of the trees rustling. The rustling gradually became louder and louder similar to what you would hear when there's a tornado occurring. Emma's eyes opened and her brows furrowed downward at the sudden change in the weather. In her rear view mirror she managed to spot something forming in the sky over by the woods, something purple. She squinted and leaned forward to get a better look.

"What the hell..." She thought aloud. Sitting up straight, Emma took her car out of park and put it in drive before taking off in the direction of what could possibly be yet another danger to the residents of StoryBrooke. As the vehicle neared closer, the large formation of purple smoke begin to slowly fade until it completely disappeared leaving the small town in silence once more.

Emma pulled her yellow Volkswagen to a stop when she reached the well. Stepping out and silently shutting the car door behind her, she took in her surroundings using the bright full moon as a source of light. Through the darkness the area seemed clear, untouched, and immensely quiet; the only sound being the crunch of leaves under Emma's boots as she walked around for further examination. She stood still with one hand on her cocked out hip; there was nobody here or so it seemed. Knowing better than to let the unseen lead her astray, Emma listened closely to everything around her and what she found strange is that she could distantly make out the sound of soft breathing that wasn't her own. The sound of rustling coming from the direction to her right grasped her attention.

Instinct kicking in, Emma took out her gun and extended it toward the sound as a precaution. Carefully and slowly she made her way toward whatever seemed to be hiding behind a few large bushes. Before she could near closer to confirm her suspicions, something or someone slammed into her with such a brute force that she fell onto the ground sending her gun sliding away from her. The figure didn't give her time to get back onto her feet, it settled for getting on top of her with it's fist extended backwards ready to strike. Emma easily stopped the attack by grabbing the person's forearm when they attempted to swing, she easily rolled them over so that she now had the advantage. The person quickly retaliated by head butting her then using their forearm to successfully push her off. The move struck Emma, it's the same tactic she would use to gain the upper hand. Quickly getting onto her feet before the person attacked her again, Emma stopped another fist hurling her way and swiped their feet out from underneath them.

Once the person was on the ground, Emma picked up her gun and pointed it at them. "Stop!" She ordered, breathing heavily. When the person did, she finally got a good look at who was close to kicking her ass and to her complete shock and surprise it was a girl who had to be no older than sixteen.

From on the floor the girl stared up at her with wide eyes, not in fear but almost in recognition. Emma lowered her gun before she placed it back in the strap that connected to her belt. She reached out a helping hand although she should be pissed because her head is throbbing from being head butted but Emma decided to be empathetic. It's dark, the girl is barely of age and she's alone in a forest. It's perfectly fine to be scared and defensive in a situation like this. The girl accepted the hand, quicker than Emma had expected, and picked herself up off the ground.

After she dusted off her coat, that looked rather expensive, she stared at Emma as if waiting for her to say something first.

It didn't take long for Emma to catch on. "Okay, I'll talk. What are you doing in the middle of the forest so late at night, kid?" Emma didn't have time for introductions. Her main priority is to figure out why there's a teenager in the woods alone at night and where the hell did she come from. In the back of her mind she remembered the purple smoke that came from the sky. There's a possibility that this is what left the obvious form of magic but Emma refrained from asking so suddenly.

The teenager opened her mouth to speak but hesitated shortly. "Would it...would it be possible that you know who I am?"  
Emma looked the girl over; she had big bright blue eyes hidden behind long dark lashes. Her long raven hair contrasted greatly with her pale skin; her face was round and slightly chubby but her jaw was firm and defined. Emma had to admit that the girl looked familiar to someone she knew, she couldn't quite place her finger on it at the moment, but other than that she had never seen this girl in her life.

"I've seen a lot of different faces in my life but yours doesn't seem to be ringing any bells, sorry. You from here?" Emma watched the teenager in suspicion. The girl is scanning her surroundings, her bottom lip pulled in between her teeth as she craned her neck to look around. "Are you lost..? Do you need me to call your parents?"  
"Mommy?" Both heads turned in the direction of the small voice. A little girl, around the age of three or four, came from behind the bushes that Emma had pointed her gun at not too long ago. She had shoulder length, curly, chocolate brown hair that's had been styled into a fringe haircut. Held tightly in the crook of her arm is a white stuffed unicorn with a golden horn. Her big eyes were staring directly at Emma as she took small steps toward the two.

"Emily, I told you not to come out until I said so." The teenager chided gently before picking her up.

"Is that your daughter?" Emma assumed from the word that left the child's mouth.

"Little sister." She corrected. "She gets confused sometimes."

"You did it! You found her!" Emily cheered happily, the large smile on her face revealed two missing front teeth. "Now we can-" A hand placed over her mouth stopped the next sentence from being said.

Both of Emma's eyebrows were arched in surprise, her entire facial expression revealed confusion. "What is she talking about?"

"Nothing! It's nothing." The answer came out too fast and Emma's superpower immediately spiked.

"How about we try that again without the lying." Emma stated smoothly, folding her arms across her chest.

The teenager exhaled deeply and squeezed her eyes shut. It's useless to continue to lie. The troubled expression on her face didn't go unnoticed by the woman standing before her. "I'm such a screw up." She whispered to herself.

Emma's face immediately softened. She knows the feeling of self deprecation all too well. "Look, kid, you shouldn't beat yourself up like that. Okay? If there's something you need to tell me, tell me. Believe me, I've heard everything."

"We're your children...from like... a couple of years from now."

"Okay, I stand corrected. Maybe I haven't heard everything." Emma's eyebrows furrowed.

"I know it sounds insane, I know." The girl quickly stated. "And I knew you wouldn't believe me." She used her free hand to dig in the pocket of her coat where she pulled out what appeared to be a folded photograph. "That's why I brought this along." She extended the picture to Emma who hesitated before taking it. When she unfolded it, she couldn't stop her face from falling in shock.

"That's not..." Emma's words trailed off as she further examined the picture. She flipped it over and to her surprise she found the title "Family Day" written in her own handwriting. "How did you do this? Photoshop? Magic? How?" She eagerly questioned.

"Wha-no." Judging by the look on the teenager's face she took offense to the accusations. She put Emily down who hugged her leg the minute her feet touched the floor. "I don't even know how to photoshop things and even if I could I wouldn't photoshop pictures, I'd photoshop things like-I don't know- better report card grades or something."

Emma didn't reply, she only looked back down at the picture with the same look of disbelief. She heard the girl sigh dramatically.

"Listen, my little sister is cold. Can you take us to the station or any place warm? Then I can answer all the questions you have." The teenager promised.  
Emma knew the exact place.

* * *

The sound of the clock ticking filled the Charming's silent yet tension filled apartment. Emma was leaning the upper half of her body on the kitchen island with her face propped up in her hand, Snow was standing next to David with a thoughtful look on her face while her husband had his arms folded across his chest. All three adults were taking in the two children seated in the chairs near the kitchen. On the surface of the counter laid a picture of Emma with the two girls, nothing but smiles on their faces as they sat upside down on a bench that Emma recognized from the small pond in StoryBrooke.

"Well she does have your most of your features, Emma." Snow was the first to break the silence, looking over at her daughter who was staring intently at the two girls. She was referring to the youngest child who didn't seemed bothered by the attention, her short legs swinging back and forth as they dangled off the chair.

"I know. It's freaky." Emma mumbled. She pushed herself off of the kitchen island and walked over to stand next to her parents. "You mind explaining everything to us again...uh.."

"It's Reagan." The teenager finished for her. "And why? So you can use your special ability on me?"

The response took Emma slightly aback and it showed. "How do you know about that?"

"Because I'm not making this up." Reagan stressed for the third time today. "You asked for evidence and I gave you evidence." She motioned to the picture on the counter. "People in this town are characters out of a fairy tale book, people can jump from realm to realm and you're having a hard time believing that we're your kids from a different time?"

It's that piece of information that left her stumped and completely baffled. In the near future she has two kids; she couldn't even handle having one. But even Emma couldn't deny that Emily looked extremely similar to herself, Reagan on the other hand didn't look too much like her. Some of her features look similar to Snow's but she couldn't place who else she looks like.

"Fine, lets say that I was to believe you. Tell me something only my future children would know." Emma had to test them as a precaution. She had already taken too many chances that went awry before.

"Sure. Um.." Reagan stared down at the floor as she thought. "Oh! You have a son named Henry who you gave up for adoption when he was born because you wanted to give him his best chance, just like your parents wanted to give you. And um-on your wrist you keep Graham's shoelace from his boot which you never...really...told anyone and I'm spilling that detail right now...sorry." She partly covered her mouth with her fingers.

Emma unconsciously touched the only piece of Graham she had left. Reagan definitely wasn't lying and no matter how many times Emma's eyes searched every inch of the girl's face to detect any twitch or sign of nervousness, she found nothing. "Alright, I believe you." She moved back to look the girls over, really look them over. She hadn't even noticed that she was gazing at them but Snow and Charming did and they smiled at the sight.

Emma has two more children, meaning that she's going to find someone to settle down with and start a family. She's going to be happy. A smile graced her face as she continued to stare at them.

"Where did you learn how to fight like that?" Emma questioned, she didn't bother to hide how impressed she was.

A lopsided grin formed on Reagan lips. "Only from the best. You. And sorry for attacking you. I couldn't see your face, only your gun pointed at where Emily was."

"Don't worry about it. It's a natural instinct to protect the ones we love."

"Just to clear things up," Charming interjected. He motioned with his index finger back and forth between him and Snow. "We're the fun grandparents, right?"

Emily nodded vigorously. "Grandma Snow gave me Miss Sunshine." She held up the stuffed animal for them to view.

"Charming it's a unicorn." Snow laughed softly. "Just like the one from-"

"Emma's nursery." He finished, grinning at his daughter.

"Speaking of parents-who's your father, kid?" Emma asked although she wasn't entirely sure that she wanted to know. The information would seem small but it will change her life forever and she's not too sure she's ready for that.

Reagan laughed at the question causing Emma as well as her parents to give the girl a confused look. "I don't have a father, you know that."She replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Snow glanced at Emma with a puzzled expression then looked back at her granddaughter. "What do you mean?"

Reagan looked at the three, her amused expression quickly went to one of horror. "Oh man. That wand sent me so far back." She stated to herself more than the people in front of her.

"Wand? What wand?" Emma questioned.

Reagan started rummaging through the small backpack that she had brought along with her stationed on the counter top behind her. When she pulled out what appeared to be a snapped in half wand she accidentally knocked the bag onto the floor, spilling all of its contents. Reagan remained oblivious as she went on to explain herself but Emma didn't and when she bent down to gather the falling objects, she found that Reagan hadn't exactly showed her everything.

"This wand-well at least what's left of it." Reagan frowned as she made an attempt to piece the halves back together with no avail. "You gave it to me so I could get me and Emily away."

"You two were running from something?" Snow asked.

"That's the reason we're here. Someone went back in time and altered everything." She looked between her grandparents. "StoryBrooke is gone. It reverted back to the forest it once was and..." Reagan visibly gulped, struggling to say the next words aloud. She glanced over at Emily to make sure she wasn't listening. "It took everyone with it." She whispered sadly.

"Reagan." Emma straightened up, holding more photographs in her hand.

"No, I'm not about to cry. I have an eyelash in my eye." She murmured, blinking back tears.

"Emma what is that?" Snow moved closer to take a look.

Upon hearing the question, Reagan shifted her attention to Emma and the minute she did her eyes widened.

"I was hoping Reagan could tell me." She turned the photograph so that the teenager could see. The image of Emma, Emily, Henry, herself, and a familiar dark haired mayor standing together in a perfect family portrait stared her in the face. "Please tell me this isn't what you meant when you said you don't have a father." Emma's eyes were shut. The resemblance is clear now but the back of her mind refused to accept it.

"Surprise...?"


	2. Chapter 2

_**So glad you guys enjoyed the first chapter, I love pleasing my readers! Reviews are highly appreciated!**_

"Isn't it a bit late to go to her house? Maybe we should wait till morning." Reagan suggested from the passenger seat of the car.

"Nope." Emma shook her head. "She's not getting off that easy and can you please put on your seat belt." She could feel her head spinning as she tried to take in all the sudden information. Not that it's impossible that she would settle down with a woman in the near future; her sexuality is something she almost never questions. Whoever life brings her to, male or female, that's who she'll end with and the gender shouldn't matter. But Regina Mills, now that's impossible.

Reagan sunk further into her seat yet complied. She started to chew on her lower lip while staring out the window at nothing in particular. "I guess I'm just nervous. I know that past Mom is different from future Mom and not really in a good way."

"Yeah your mother can be a bit of a pain but that's only because things haven't been going all too good for her, you know?" Emma pulled the car to a stop.

"Yeah. I know." Reagan smiled at how there's an understanding between the two. Perhaps she didn't get sent too far back in time.

When they got out the Bug, Emily latched on to her mother's two fingers and swung her arm back and forth as she skipped along the gravel that led to the mansion. "Mommy, will young Mom still love me?"

A twinge in Emma's heart made her wince unintentionally at the question. She helplessly looked over at Reagan to answer in her place.

"She's your daughter. You can talk to her, she'll understand if you just explain it to her." Reagan informed, coming to a stop a few inches away from the front door of Regina's mansion.

"She's like three. She's way to young to understand complex situations like this."

"Four actually and she has an incredible mind. Talk to her." Reagan nodded in the direction of Emily. "It'll come naturally, trust me."

Emma looked down at Emily, still holding on to her fingers, who smiled up at her. Innocence practically radiated from her and suddenly there was this pull, this familiarity that helped Emma feel comfortable enough to bend down so that she's eye level with her. "Okay...you see Emily, your young Mom won't really know who you are. Just like me. You know that right?"

Emily nodded. "Because we jumped inside the purple swirls."

Emma laughed gently. "Right. So because she won't know you, she might not..." She searched for a way to gently put it. "Know the love she has for you. You understand?"  
"I think so. So does that mean you don't know the love you has for me?"

Another tug at her heart strings. "I'm afraid not, kid. But I'm sure I will soon."

"Promise?" Emily held out her pinkie.  
"Promise." Emma hooked their pinkies together. She was taken aback when Emily suddenly unhooked their joint pinkies so that she could wrap her short arms around her neck, hugging her. For a moment Emma tensed, she kept her hands hovering over the little girl's back before she slowly brought them down to settle on the soft material of Emily's pink fuzzy sweater.

Reagan watched the interaction with a smile on her face. Despite Emma not knowing Emily yet, nothing could weaken the bond between a mother and her child. When Emma stood up and took Emily's hand in hers once more, they all stepped onto the porch.

Emma looked over at Reagan and saw that she's rubbing the back of her head and wincing, something she has been doing the whole car ride. "You okay?"

"Yeah. I think I might have hit my head back in the forest but I'll be fine." That's not entirely the truth. She had a major headache but chose not to put anything more on Emma's plate.

"Alright. You ready?" Seeing Reagan nod, Emma pressed the doorbell. "Now try not to overwhelm her. She's probably already going to be pissed because one: someone's interrupting her night and two: that someone is me."

"Is your relationship really that rocky?"

Emma opened her mouth to answer with something along the lines of "hell yes" but got cut short when the door clicked open revealing a very angry Regina in silver pajamas and a thin gray robe.

" **Miss Swan.** " The amount of emphasis she put on the name revealed the direction this conversation will go.

"Oh here we go." Emma mumbled.

"Now, I'm sure you own a clock and can read time so you're very much aware that it's way too late to knock on anyone's door **let alone** mine." Regina spoke harshly.

"If this could wait and didn't concern you believe me I wouldn't be here."

Regina's eyes narrowed. "What is it? Is Henry okay?"

"Henry's fine. He's at a sleepover with some friends." Emma quickly reassured.

"Then what else can possibly concern me?"

Reagan felt completely invisible standing beside Emma. Her heart clenched, it didn't know how else to react to being ignored by someone so important. Regina didn't even look at her yet. She could feel the sensation of sadness slowly taking over so she bowed her head and stared at the ground.

Emma placed one hand on Reagan's shoulder and she motioned with the hand the held Emily's hand in Regina's direction. "These two. Can we come in?"

Regina finally looked at the two young girls standing on her porch but failed to recognize who they are. So she forced a fake smile on her face and brought her eyes back to Emma. "Sorry dear, but my babysitting services are between 1 and 4." She said sarcastically, dropping the smile. "Goodnight Miss Swan." She made a move to shut the door but Emma placed her flat palm on the white wood, successfully preventing it from closing. By now Regina's irritation grew and it showed.

"Regina, please." Emma gave her a pleading look, something she rarely did and oddly Regina found herself unable to slam the door in her face.

She let out an exasperated breath. "10 minutes. 20 if what you have to say is actually worth my time."

Regina brought them to the black and white sitting room where she sat in the arm chair across from the couch Emma and Reagan sat on. Emily proved her restlessness by roaming around the room with Regina carefully watching her.

"You don't have to worry," Regina's eyes settled on the teenager smiling at her. "She won't break anything. Our parents taught her better than that."

"Thank you for the information." She kept her eyes on Reagan for a while longer than necessary. Shortly after this feeling in her gut appeared, something like déjà vu. She chose to ignore it and averted her eyes to the blonde sitting across from her. "Now, would you care to tell me what exactly is so urgent that it couldn't wait until a more appropriate time?"

Emma glanced over at Reagan and the teenager mimicked the attention simultaneously. "Regina, this is Reagan. And the little girl over there is Emily. Now bear with us because they have both come a long way to get here. Regina...they're your daughters.

Regina stared at Emma then shifted her eyes to Reagan all the while staying completely silent so Emma continued to speak.

"Something in the future happened and it brought them back here. Back to you." She wanted to replace the word "you" with "us" but refrained from doing so.

Once again Regina stayed silent momentarily before chuckling deeply. "That's rich. Perhaps you shouldn't believe everything children tell you, Miss Swan. I'm sure you're very much aware of their over imaginative minds." She stood up and made a move to let them out.

" _Ouch_." Reagan commented quietly.

"Regina wait."Emma got up and Regina paused, turning back around sharply.

"No I will not wait. This is a waste of my time. I don't have two more children because I can't-" She caught herself from spilling too much information. "It doesn't matter. I don't have daughters."

"I know what you're thinking." Reagan finally spoke, standing up and gaining the attention of the dark haired woman. "I know." She emphasized softly. "But I can prove your my mother. We have the same magic, watch."

"Hold on," Regina took a few steps toward Reagan. "What do you know about magic?"

"Only what you taught me. Give me a second." Taking a few steps back and allowing her eyes to drift close, Reagan concentrated. Both Emma and Regina watched her jerk both of her hand up but it seemed that she didn't get the reaction she expected judging by the expression on her face. "I can do this. Come on." Reagan tried to encourage herself. She bit down on her lower lip and repeated the action, this time she felt it happen.

Regina's eyebrows arched in surprise when Reagan disappeared in a puff of purple smoke, much like her own, and appeared across the room where Emily stood. She stumbled slightly but managed to keep her balance.

"Woah!" Emily gasped. "That was so cool!"

"And if that's not convincing enough, Mo-Emma has some pictures that might will." Reagan moved back toward the two with Emily trailing behind her.

Emma already had the pictures gathered in her jacket pocket. As she handed them to Regina she made sure to give her pictures that didn't involve everyone in the family. The last thing she needed tonight is for Regina's head to explode.

Regina studied the photographs to determine whether or not they're a forgery created by magic. Being a person with magical abilities, it would be easier to distinguish a real photo from one created with a spell than a person without magic. And it didn't take much to come to the conclusion that the pictures that revealed her with the two girls were in fact real. The evidence is all there, all that's left is for Regina to accept it. She hesitated before looking at Reagan again then at Emily, the feeling in her gut came back

"Your my daughter. Both of you?" A slight smile curved the corners of Regina's mouth.

"Hi." Reagan smiled sheepishly.

Regina still had trouble wrapping her head around the situation. With a close observation, Reagan looks exactly like herself just with a different eye color; brighter, familiar. Emily has her eyes but they're warmer, more welcoming and her hair has the same curly texture which is very much impossible. She must've had twice the luck when adopting them. "You two look a lot like me."

"Well they are your children." Emma said in a tone that made Regina's jaw clench.

"I believe I was speaking to my daughters, not you." She spat.

Emma rolled her eyes. "Relax Regina, I was only trying to help speed up this process."

"Your help is very much unwanted and unneeded. And now I've realized so is your presence. I can handle the rest of this by myself, thank you."

Emma laughed dryly, placing both hands on her hips. "Do you honestly believe that I would leave you alone with them?"

Regina's eyes narrowed to silts and Reagan gulped, watching as Regina invaded Emma's personal space. "Are you insinuating that I would hurt my own children, **deputy**?"

Emma's demeanor remained calm and unwavering. "Well, **your majesty** , you've been trying to murder your step child for how many years now? And last time I checked, you tried to kill her twice in only 24 hours. So yeah, I wouldn't put it past you."

"Please stop fighting." Reagan's plea went deaf to both of her mother's ears. From her side she heard Emily make a small whining noise at the arguing so she took her sister's small hand in her own and lightly squeezed it. A silent way of saying "I'm here." Neither of them were used to seeing their parents fight, especially not directly in front of them. Receiving their first experience made them both anxious. Reagan scratched at the backside of her head, she gets itchy when she's uncomfortable, and immediately winced when a shock of pain shot through her skull. She jerked her hand away and saw the dark red blood that coated her fingertips. "Mom..." She called out shakily, not only to one but to both.

"Your mother is a murderer."

"Your mother had nothing more than the intention to destroy this whole town. She had to be stopped."

Reagan tried to keep her breathing steady but the sudden dizziness made it incredibly difficult. She could feel her body swaying dangerously and did her best to keep steady by taking a few steps forward. Everything had gray spots surrounding it and that terrified her. "Can someone please help me!"

The amount of panic in her voice got them to stop fighting and bring their attention from each other to her.

"Reagan what's wrong?" Emma moved closer in unison with Regina.

There was no time to answer, her vision went black and then she felt herself falling. Emma and Regina both rushed to insure that Reagan didn't hurt herself by catching her and gently laying her down on the floor.

"Reagan." Emma gently patted her face in attempt to rouse her.

Regina had her hand beneath her daughter's head as a cushion and what confused her is the wetness she felt. Carefully she slipped her hand out from between the floor and Reagan's head, finding that what's leaking onto her palm is blood.

"Did you know she was hurt?" Regina questioned none to gently, putting her blood stained hand in Emma's view.

Emma mentally scolded herself for not catching on the first time. She should've known that Reagan wasn't being fully honest with her when she asked about her head. "She said she bumped her head in the forest where I found them."

"And how exactly did that happen?" Regina carefully maneuvered Reagan onto her side so that she could locate the injury and use magic to heal it.

"Most likely when she attacked me." Emma said without thinking. Too late to take it back now.

Regina's piercing eyes snapped to her face. "Funny how you say she attacked you but she's the one with an injury and you barely have a scratch."

"I defended myself, Regina. She caught me off guard."

"You put your hands on my daughter."

Emma's surprised that Regina didn't fireball her ass already. "I barely laid a finger on her!" She exclaimed.

"Excuse me for not believing you when her head is practically leaking!"

A soft cry interrupted their argument. Two heads faced the direction of the sound and found Emily watching the entire situation, tears whelming in her brown eyes; she was practically shaking. With everything happening they had forgotten the youngest person in the room.

"Oh, Emily. I'm sorry." Emma sighed, making a move to console her.

"Miss Swan, haven't you done enough?"The accusation in Regina's voice brought Emma to the last of her wits. She couldn't hold it back anymore and right now she'd do anything to get Regina to shut up.

"They're my daughters too, Regina."


	3. Chapter 3

_**Eep, sorry for the delay. Writer's block can seriously suck. But here's another chapter and thank you guys for all the follows and reviews!**_

Emma knocked on the closed door leading to the bathroom that Regina had locked herself in twenty minutes ago. It's safe to say that she didn't take the news as well as Emma did. "Regina." She called out, resting her hand on the white oak as she awaited a response. Receiving nothing, she sighed. "Regina you can't hide yourself away forever."

A light snort from the other side of the door deemed otherwise.

"Okay maybe you can but that doesn't mean you should. One way or another, you're going to have to deal with this." Emma should have expected this kind of reaction, especially from Regina who has a thing for disappearing when she doesn't want to deal with a situation.

When Regina remained silent, Emma huffed and shifted so that her back leaned against the door. On the floor directly in front of her, Emily sat with her tiny legs sprawled out, an apple picked from Regina's tree clutched in both hands and her unicorn teddy bear at her side. Being that she has two missing front teeth she had to result to gnawing at the apple using the side of her mouth, her tiny teeth not being of much aid. It's adorable and Emma couldn't help but smile.

"Would you like me to cut that up for you?"Emma watched on in amusement.

Emily quickly shook her head and took the apple out from between her teeth to stare at it with a look of pure determination. "Mm-mm. I got it." She twirled the fruit using both hands and Emma caught sight of the tiny bite marks that formed an oval like shape on one side. She didn't understand what Emily was doing until the little girl managed to take a chunk out of the apple, chewing it happily. "My teeth are too tiny to take big bites so I make tiny bites to make a bigger bite. Now that I have a bigger bite it's easier make more bites." Emily explained while still chewing.

"You're quite strategic, aren't you?" Emma moved to take a seat on the floor next to her daughter. She bent her knees and leaned her forearms on them for support.

Emily tilted her head to the side in confusion. "What does that mean?"  
"It means you're very smart."

Emily beamed at the compliment. "Reggie tells me that all the time." She suddenly frowned deeply at the mention of Reagan; her demeanor saddened. "Is she going to be okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah of course." At some point in between their scuffle, Reagan must've took a pretty hard hit to the back of her head. The end result being a gash that oozed enough blood to make her faint. When Regina healed it, Reagan didn't immediately wake up but the low incoherent words she mumbled indicated that she was still with them. Before Regina fled, the two carried Reagan to place her safely in the comfort of Henry's bed where she remained asleep. Since the discovery of the injury, Emma has felt truly guilty and irresponsible for what happened when Reagan was under her care. "Reagan just got a...booboo that made her feel really tired."

"From when we fell from the sky." Emily stated nonchalantly, taking another bite of her apple.  
Emma's eyebrows knitted together. Then she remembered the portal, specifically the location of the portal; the formation was coming from the sky. Of course they had to drop down. "That's how Reagan hit her head." She breathed a sigh of relief. The weight of guilt was instantly lifted off her shoulders.  
"She wanted to make sure the ground didn't hurt me. Is it my fault that she has a booboo?"  
"Of course not." Emma made sure to quickly dismiss the idea. "Your other mother seems to think it's my fault."

"Is that why she hid in the bathroom? She's angry with you?" The question is so innocent that Emma had to laugh. "But you would never hurt Reggie or me just like Mom wouldn't."

The sentence brought back the words she said to Regina earlier. Emma bowed her head and stared down at the ground at the thought of it, feeling shameful for even making the accusation. "Yeah...yeah I know. But I don't think that's why she's upset."

"Oh. When older Mom is upset, older you tells me that she needs space. Maybe younger Mom likes space too."

A 4 year old just gave her the best advice tonight and all Emma could do was sit there dumbfounded that she didn't realize that before.

Emily yawned and picked herself up off the ground. "I'm going to go to bed now. Goodnight, Mommy." For the second time today she wrapped her arms around Emma's neck and hugged her tightly, pressing her check against the side of Emma's temple.

"Night, kid."She replied softly, a gentle smile tugging the corners of her lips. As she watched Emily walk away she couldn't help but think that this is a feeling she may never get used to, the same feeling she got when Henry warmed up to her. Being a mother. The hugs are one of the best things about being a parent, at least Emma thought so, because it's a way of saying "I love you" without being vocal. Now she's sitting here smiling like a complete idiot until the sound of the bathroom door clicked open and out came Regina who didn't even spare Emma a single glance as she paced toward the stairs.

"Regina." Emma swiftly got onto her feet, not once did she hesitate to chase after the woman. After all she never does. "Regina wait." It was like a game of follow the leader, down the stairs, through the foyer. Regina refused to slow down. It took Emma cutting her path by moving in front of her for her to finally come to a halt. "I need you to listen to me."

Regina's eyes chose to settle on anything that wasn't Emma Swan. She couldn't look at her, not after the information she received.

"If you don't want to talk about this now I won't force you, alright?" Emma decided to heed Emily's small piece of advice. "I'll give you your space but only for tonight. Tomorrow, we're going to be adults about this entire situation. Okay?"

Regina pursed her lips. She didn't care for being spoken to in such a demanding manner. "Fine." She gritted out in response, folding her arms across her chest.

Emma noticed the lack of eye contact but chose not to confront it. Instead, she reached into her pocket and pulled out the family portrait Reagan insisted she bring along. She extended the picture, flipped over, to Regina who squinted at it in confusion. "For when you're ready."

Regina tentatively grasped the photograph between her thumb and forefinger. Usually she's always armed with a response but here she is, rendered speechless; it wouldn't be the first time this happened in front of the savior.

With nothing left to be said, Emma turned on her heel to allow herself out.

"Wait. You're leaving me alone with them?" Regina didn't try to hide the shock in her voice. No more than a few minutes ago did Emma accuse her of being a complete sociopath now all of a sudden she has a change of heart? "I thought you didn't trust me."

Emma continued to walk to the door as she tried not to feel guilty at the hint of hurt laced in Regina's voice in the last question. "Yeah, well, a smart little birdie changed my mind." Once she got to the entrance, hand on the shiny knob, she stopped. Emma turned her head to the side to look at Regina from the corner of her eye. "Be easy on yourself, Regina." With all that's been going on for the past couple of days, Emma meant that. Her and Regina may not be on the best terms but that doesn't mean she can't sympathize with her, after all Regina is only human.

Regina watched Emma leave before taking a deep breathe and ghosting up the stairs. Not yet did she observe the picture, she decided on placing it in her pocket of her robe. When she reaches the top of the stairway, she spots a stuffed unicorn on the floor from the corner of her eye and walks over to pick it up for she remembers Emily holding the toy when they first arrived. As she took the first few steps toward Henry's room, she felt slightly uneasy. Seeing them again will confirm that this all so real. And the more she thought about it the harder she dug her fingernails into the plush toy.

The door creaked open, pouring light into the dark room. On Henry's bed are two figures underneath the sea colored blanket. Reagan had her back facing the doorway, Emily cuddled close to her. At the sound of the door opening, Reagan glanced over her shoulder and smiled when she saw Regina, something the woman isn't very use to.

"Sorry, did I wake you?"Regina kept her voice leveled; loud enough for Reagan to hear and low enough not to wake Emily.

Reagan shook her head, shifting to lie on her back instead of her side so she could put her full attention on her mother. "I've been awake for quite a while now."

Regina walked further into the dimly lit room, approaching the bed where the two girls lay. She held up the stuffed unicorn, giving it a small shake. "Emily's toy." A frown shaped her lips when she spotted the half eaten apple in the little girl's hands. Swiftly poofing it away with a twirl of her hand, Regina leaned over Reagan to place the soft toy in Emily's arms and smiled when the little girl instantly cuddled it.  
"How's your head?" Regina asked once she straightened up.

"Better. Fainting can be pretty scary." Reagan made more space on the bed by sliding over. It was an invitation to get comfortable, a way of showing Regina that she doesn't mind the close proximity. Regina understood the silent communication and welcomed the gesture by taking a seat in the empty space. "Did Mom leave?"

"Yeah. But knowing her, she'll be back early tomorrow morning." Regina assured her.  
Reagan nodded. She looked down at her fiddling fingers. "Sorry for dumping all of this on you. The last thing I want is to be a nuisance because of my screw ups."

"No. You're far from a nuisance." Regina shook her head in disbelief. "Let's not worry about any of that right now. Right now...let me just look at you. The both of you." She stated softly.  
Reagan smiled widely and allowed her eyes to trace over her mother's features. The main one that stuck out like a sore thumb being Regina's short hair. "I didn't know your hair was this short. You look so political." She reached forward to gently brush away the silky waves of hair that touched Regina's face, grinning at the way it bounced back.

Regina chuckled. "I suppose my hair is much longer in the future?"

"You never let it get past your shoulders, though." Reagan continued to touch Regina's hair while the woman merely observed her, a tender smile on her face. Her eyes wondered over to Emily's sleeping form curled into a tiny ball, her breathing rhythmic and deep. Such beauty, innocence and delicateness all took the form of two young girls that resemble her and something bloomed in her chest at the thought.

"You two are so beautiful." Regina couldn't prevent herself from whispering aloud. Tentatively, she reached out and cupped Reagan's soft cheek. Unlike many others, the teenager didn't avoid the touch nor did she swat Regina's hand away. She welcomed Regina's touch by leaning into her palm with the most heartwarming smile on her face. Whatever love Reagan has for Regina, it showed in her earth colored eyes and there was no denying that this is her daughter.

"You have her eyes." Regina had to point out.

"Is that a bad thing?"

She thought for a moment before answering with a gentle, "No. Not at all." Regina tucked Reagan in, more out of habit than it being necessary. "Try to get some sleep. Tomorrow might be a busy day." She stood up and headed for the door.

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Reagan." She responded before shutting the door, thinking about how natural that felt.  
Regina leaned against the closed door and released a deep breath. Her hand slipped into the pocket of her robe, brushing against the picture Emma gave to her. **For when you're ready.**

Regina took out the picture.


	4. Chapter 4

**Authors Note: Let me take the time out to make something very clear. To the person who accused me of stealing this story, I have a few points to make. One: In the first chapter I admitted that this story did not develop on an original idea. I have read many Swan Queen future kids fanfics that inspired me to write my own as said in the FIRST chapter. There are MANY fanfictions with this same concept that are probably not that popular idk. The story line is fun. Two: I made sure to differentiate this story to the best of my ability so no it's not stolen. Three: There's no way I stole her story when I only read the first half of her first chapter before moving on. Four: The scenes I put in this story came from MY imagination. The names of the children in this story came from MY research and thinking, I chose the names for a specific reason. Reagan and Emily's personalities are based off of MY interpretation of how Regina & Emma's kids would act and they're also based off of Henry's personality. I chose specific ages because a toddler and a teenager are at two different stages in their life that makes them challenging. This is MY writing, I repeat, MY writing. I'M brainstorming on how this story should go, and how the first few chapters should go. I decided to start this story at a certain point in Regina & Emma's relationship because that's where it was most tense and emotion filled. So I'm sorry that you feel that I "stole" someone's story. If it's such an issue you could've easily PM me instead of commenting as a guest. On that note, here's another chapter where questions will be answered :) And Henry will be making an appearance in the next chapter.**

Reagan had her chin resting in the palm of her hand, hair slightly wet and curly, dripping onto the button up shirt Regina had lent her that almost fit. A bored expression permanent on her face as she slid the salt shaker back and forth across the dining room table with a simple motion of her index finger while Emily ran around the table in circles making sputtering noises, pretending to be an airplane in one of Henry's old outfits. The morning started off quite well, they had breakfast, they talked, they laughed and then Emma came over just as Regina assumed. Reagan didn't hear the entire conversation between the two but she managed to figure out that it dealt with Henry and his current whereabouts with someone Regina didn't care too much for. Now they're in the foyer quietly bickering with one another which didn't surprise her by the slightest.

Reagan's ears perked up at the sound of footsteps coming toward the dining room and she halted all actions.

"Mommy look, I'm an airplane!" Emily exclaimed once she spotted Emma. "Catch me before I crash!" She started to spin and twist out of control in Emma's direction then prepared to leap into her arms.

"Woah." Emma swiftly caught the giggling little girl and started to spin right onto the seat of a chair right next to Reagan where she sat Emily on her lap. "The airplane has safely landed."

"Hooray!" Emily cheered, extending both of her arms in the air.

Regina settled in a chair across from Emma, smiling at Emily despite the pang of jealousy she felt at how quickly the two have bonded. She turned to Reagan. "Okay, Reagan, we just have a few questions that we need you to answer. Are you okay with that?"

"Jeez, I feel like I'm about to be interrogated." Reagan shifted to get more comfortable in her seat.

"Is there anything we can do to make you feel more comfortable?" Regina offered.

A smirk curved the corner of Reagan's lips. "Can I have coffee?"

"No."

"Sure."

Regina and Emma's sentences intersected, bringing their attention to one another. Reagan groaned quietly. She could practically feel a debate about to happen over a simple beverage.

"Why can't she have coffee?"

"The same reason you shouldn't give a child an energy drink. Unlike you, I think of consequences." Regina argued.

"What? She'll be a little bit more energized than normal. No harm done."

"You know what," Reagan intervened. "I don't actually need anything." She announced in hope that the bickering will cease. No such luck.

Regina laughed dryly. "No harm done? You mean despite jitteriness, nervousness, an upset stomach, headaches and an increase in blood pressure all being side effects? Honestly, Miss Swan, do you have any idea how to parent a child?"

"You just love taking shots at me don't you?"

Reagan's blue eyes connected with her little sister's big brown ones and an idea struck. Clearly her protest didn't stand a chance at reaching their ears because she's not loud enough but she knows someone who is and getting Emily on board won't be difficult at all. While their parents were distracted by each other, Reagan pointed her index finger at Emily. When the little girl mimicked the action, Reagan nodded and then proceeded to make a fake angry face as she pretended to bang her fist rapidly on the table.

Emily's head titled to the side momentarily in confusion before the imaginary lightbulb lit up. Not wasting a second, Emily started making whining noises and squirmed in Emma's arms, stirring a slight reaction from the blonde who merely glanced down in between a sentence. Emily looked over at Reagan and the teenager motioned for her to turn up the heat.

Reagan had to stifle her laughter when Emily abruptly started to scream and writhe aggressively in Emma's arms, managing to shock both parents to silence. Her little sister is quite the actress.  
"Emily-Emily." Emma struggled to hold onto the flailing child.

Regina stood up and rounded the table to stand next to Emma's seat. "You're not supposed to restrain a child throwing a tantrum." She scolded.

"I can't exactly let her go, Regina. What if she hurts herself?"

Regina huffed in response though she knew Emma was right. "Emily," She cooed, kneeling down closer to eye level. Emma made sure that Emily didn't accidentally kick her square in the jaw. "You want to tell me what made you so cranky?"

Emily only continued to fake wail, dramatically throwing her head back and effectively managing to slam into Emma's chest causing the blonde to wince. "I don't know what's wrong with her. She was fine just a second ago."

Watching the scene she put together play out, another idea emerged in Reagan's creative brain. "Small tip," She interjected, gaining the attention of the two mothers. "She hates it when you two argue. Maybe if you were to somehow show her that you're not angry at each other anymore by-I don't know...showing some sign of affection to each other, she'll clam down." Getting them to somehow be affectionate to one another would not only put an end to Emily's "tantrum" but it might also stir up some ignored feelings that her future mothers told her about.

Emma eyes met Regina's, searching for a reaction or a hint on how she wants to go about this. There's a large chance that if Emma was to make an attempt to hug her, Regina would send her flying 10 feet away. So instead of risking all of her bones breaking from being tossed like a football, she risked her hand being burned off when she intertwined her fingers with Regina's. Surprisingly, the dark haired woman didn't snatch her hand away; her lips only parted slightly in shock.

"Look, Emily. Look." Emma put their joined hands on top of Emily's tiny one and almost immediately she stopped fussing. "We're not mad at each other. See?" She gave Regina's hand, which happens to be incredibly soft, a light squeeze and strangely she felt a surge of something she couldn't quite explain. Almost like magic. She glanced at Regina briefly and judging by the way the brunette had her eyes transfixed on their locked hands, she felt it too.

Emily looked at Reagan, awaiting a confirmation that she succeeded. When she gave her a thumbs up, Emily's eyes settled on her mothers once more and she flashed them a tiny smile. "Okay. I'm gonna go play with younger Henry's toys." Once she slipped off Emma's lap and ran away, Regina untangled their fingers. She stood up, cleared her throat, and smoothed out the imaginary wrinkles on her skirt. Clearly she had been disturbed by whatever just happened.

On the outside Reagan appeared to be calm but on the inside she's squealing like a hormonal preteen at a concert for a boy band. Not only did she get the pleasure of watching what she anticipated would happen but watching the two obviously feel some sort of magical connection to one another proved that there's a chance she's right where she needed to be in the past.

"So, how about those questions?" Reagan grinned.

"Right." Regina seemed completely out of it as she returned to her seat. She opened her mouth to speak but Emma beat her to the punch. "How does all of this work?"

"What? Your marriage? You two playfully banter more than bicker."

"I'm actually referring to the whole children who resemble both of us thing." Emma's been curious about the whole process since she first learned who their second parent is.

"Well," Reagan started. She folded her hands on the table and sat up straight. "When a Mommy and a Mommy love each other-"

"Reagan."Emma stated firmly, earning a laugh from the teenager.

She leaned back in the chair. "I didn't ask. I actually like not being scarred for life, you know? All I know is that me and Emmy are both the product of magic and that you carried both of us. In fact, one of your favorite arguments is that you didn't sit through 12 hours of pain for us to disobey you."

"Three children, huh?" Emma cringed at the thought of how her body must look in the future. "Regina, you're a magic expert. How does that happen?"

Regina touched the ring on her finger, twisting it as she thought. "Magic can be very powerful and unpredictable especially when regarding two people being," She glanced at Emma briefly before forcing out the word, "Intimate. A strong enough bond can produce life."

"In other words, I was a fun little accident. Although you two insist that I'm more of a miracle." Reagan directed the last comment more toward Regina.

"Then if Emily was planned, why couldn't you carry her?" Carrying more children in the future came to be one of Emma's concerns. Giving birth is not something she enjoys doing.

"I think there are more pressing matters at hand that need to be addressed." Regina quickly dismissed the question. Emma eyed her suspiciously, noting the way Regina would walk around the topic of birth. "Reagan, what exactly occurred in your time that brought you here?"

"I'm not entirely sure." Reagan started, staring down at the table as she picked at her fingernails. "All I know is that something or someone must of altered the past and whatever they did, it made everything disappear."

"Everything just vanished into thin air?" Emma asked.

"Something like that. It started off slow at first like a virus, you know? People were showing symptoms like forgetting things and replacing it with new memories before they disappeared. When it got down to only a few people, it picked up and it didn't take long before you were gone." Reagan said to Regina. "I'm not sure what happened to Mom." She had to swallow back the sharp hit of sadness that overcame her when she thought about the events. "Does that mean you two are dead?"

"No," Regina placed a comforting hand on Reagan's wrist. "Of course not. If something altered the future that caused people to receive new memories then that must mean that they're in another future. One where things are different. What kind of things did I forget before I was gone?"

"Me." Reagan's voice hitched despite her willingness not to break down. She cleared her throat. "Emily. The fact that you two were married and loved each other."

"So whoever changed the past had the agenda to make sure that me and Regina wouldn't be together." Emma stated more than asked. "But that would mean we wouldn't have you two."

"That's why you gave me the wand. You said that it would allow me to time jump if I just willed myself to and that it's up to me now." Reagan explained before she sighed deeply. "No pressure at all."

"Well, I apologize on behalf of my future self. I know the feeling of having the weight of the world on your shoulders. It's not fun." In fact, she knew it all to well. Being the savior didn't exactly come with a how to guide attached to it. Having people believe in you is always great, it's believing in yourself that makes matters difficult.

Although Regina didn't want to at the moment, she truly sympathized with Emma. There's so much of an internal struggle going on that only revealed itself in her blue eyes; something only people who hid their demons could see. What pained Regina is that that the same tiredness reflected in Reagan's eyes and at that moment, as the two sat there practically pouting,she resembled Emma entirely even with Regina's clothes on.

"Can we pick this up later?" Reagan appeared overwhelmed as she ran her fingers through her air dried hair.

"Sure, kid. I'm sure me and your mom will figure this out together without murdering one another." Emma replied, looking at Regina to agree with folded arms and a hint of a smirk on her face.

Reagan also looked at her mother, a hopeful smile on her face that Regina had to return as she nodded.

"So in the meantime can I get new clothes? Yours doesn't exactly fit." Reagan proved that point by flapping the sleeves.

"You didn't bring anything along to change?" Emma questioned.

"I didn't exactly have time to pack a suitcase for my early vacation, Mom." Reagan retorted sarcastically.

Emma's eyebrows arched and she let out something between a scoff and a laugh because that was so much like Regina. "Definitely your child, Regina. Lets just go find you and Emily some clothes." She said before standing up in unison with Reagan and Regina.

A realization occurred in Reagan's mind that made her freeze all movement. "Wait." All the attention came back to her. "Me and Emmy can't be seen by too many people. It might mess up the future after we fix it."

"Right." Emma nodded in agreement, biting down on her lower lip. "One of us can stay here and the other can get the clothes? Who usually does the shopping, Reagan?"

"Both of you." Reagan smiled teasingly. "I can watch Emily."

Emma didn't mind but Regina might so she considered her feelings. "It has to be both of us?"

"What's the problem with that?" Regina snapped in offense.

Emma's shoulders raised slightly as she mouthed silent words because Regina can be utterly confusing majority of the time. "Jeez, I just thought that-you know what it doesn't matter. Lets go."

This should be fun.


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm so incredibly sorry for not updating in such a while. I felt like my writing has been kinda off and that tied in with lack of inspiration but I managed to finally finish a chapter. I hope you guys like it!**

Emma's leaning on one of the clothing racks in the store, resisting the insistent urge to bang her head repeatedly on the metal. Shopping with Regina is incredibly exhausting, not only because she disagrees with everything Emma picks out but because she's one of those "stare and examine but refuse to buy" types.

"Didn't Reagan say that when she can't shop for herself that I usually do it?" According to their teenage daughter, Emma shops for her while Regina shops for Emily and it's completely understandable. It's almost as if Regina doesn't believe in jeans judging by all the dresses she would search through.

"And I almost allowed it until you tried buy her skinny jeans and graphic tees." Regina deadpanned whilst examining more appropriate clothing. "She's a young lady not a band groupie."

Emma rolled her eyes and pushed herself away from the rack she had been leaning on. "Regina, she's a teenager and she happened to tell me before we left that she likes clothes around that category and it's only fair. I mean, majority of teenage girls don't enjoy dressing in restricting knee length skirts, slacks or long sleeved button up shirts. Downing her taste only because it doesn't fit your image? It only limits her freedom of expression."

Regina stared ahead at nothing in particular, suddenly in thought. Flashbacks of when her mother forced her to wear tight corsets and itchy dresses that allowed her little to no movement. All the times she was ridiculed for preferring to wear a riding outfit fit for a man rather than dresses fit for a princess. Being controlled in such a manner only made her feel like less of a person; a doll, an image of perfection that her mother created. That's definitely not something she would want her daughter to experience which only meant that Emma's right. Perhaps she's not as bad of a parent as Regina thought.

"No shirts with profanity written on them or obscene images." Regina instructed before moving along.  
"I know that." Emma stated defensively, trailing along behind the woman. While searching through the racks of shirts, Emma waited for a moment before deciding to at least make an attempt to gather what's going on in Regina's head. "So...any ideas on how to fix this whole situation?"

"You mean on a situation I received details on no less than thirty minutes ago? Regina replied nonchalantly, brows drawn downward in concentration as she browsed through the dresses fit for toddlers. "No, I don't and I suppose you don't either given your habit of not being able to properly figure out mysteries without placing the blame on another."

Emma almost made a retort but stopped herself when she fully listened to the words that slipped from Regina's lips. That wasn't anger-well maybe slightly but Emma knew better when it came to Regina and she definitely can detect the hurt in her voice. She exhaled deeply through her nose. "Regina I-"

"Made a mistake?" She finished the sad excuse of an almost apology. Regina turned to face Emma, lips pressed into a thin line. "Just like how your mother made a mistake when she handed me my mother's poisoned heart? How about we stop sugarcoating our wrongdoings, hm?"

"Alright, fine." The bickering will never end; not until one of them decide to step up, be the bigger person and make amends."You want me to admit that my intention was to hurt you? _ **It was**_." Regina's eyes narrowed at Emma's response. "But despite what you may believe Regina, I didn't do it because I'm this malicious person or whatever selfish version of me you have cooked up in your head. I wanted to hurt you because you hurt Henry-or at least I thought you did." _You hurt me too_ , Emma wanted to add because it's the truth. When she thought that Regina flat out lied straight to her face after Emma put all her trust and faith into her, it was like a punch in the gut. "I may have been wrong in my accusations but what I did is what any normal parent would do, what any good parent would do and that is protect their child. You would've done the same."

Regina definitely would've done the same. In fact she would've reveled in seeing the savior tainted in the eyes of her own son, leaving Henry all to her. But something Regina caught onto is that Emma indirectly referred to her as a good parent; something that not a lot of people viewed her as. "You think I'm a good parent?" The question was pure, genuine curiosity.

A gentle smile tugged at the corners of Emma's lips. "Well, I wouldn't go as far as giving you the best parent of the year award but no one, not even me, can deny that you raised Henry to be the best he can be. You gave him your all when I couldn't so yes, Regina you're a good parent." She answered, watching as Regina's eyes drifted to the floor. No retort. No harsh criticism. Only complete silence that proved she reached a red spot in Regina's near dark heart. So she continued, hoping that the more respect she showed toward Regina's parenting skills the less Regina would question hers. "And looking at Reagan and Emily, they're practically the perfect children-when you take away the cheekiness and tantrums-"

"The tantrum was fake."

"Yeah and-wait, what? How do you know that?"

"When you raise an active little boy, you adapt to having eyes and ears everywhere. Reagan and Emily silently communicate with one another. It's very common among siblings." Regina explained.

"So, if you knew then why did you continue with the act?" Emma then smiled playfully. "You know Regina, if you wanted to hold my hand all you had to do was ask."

Regina laughed dryly before turning her attention back to the racks of dresses. "Come off your high horse, Miss Swan. The last thing I want to do is hold your hand. I didn't figure it out until I thought about it afterwards."

"You were thinking about it afterwards?" Emma blurted out. She wondered if Regina was thinking about the strange surge of magic that occurred when their hands connected.

Regina hadn't even realized that she admitted to doing so. Careful not to hesitate, she answered immediately. "Yes. A few minutes after Emily had calmed down, her tantrum ended too fast for it to be real." Not too much of a lie that Emma would be able to read her but also not the full truth. The truth is she did feel the magic that sent tingles straight through her entire hand the minute Emma had touched her, mimicking the experience she had when she desperately tried to make Jefferson's hat work and Emma somehow jumpstarted her magic with one single touch.

"You see how less stressful it is speaking to me without witty or sarcastic remarks? Now, if we can get back to the topic of fixing our current dilemma, I think we should go to Gold."

"Definitely not." Regina immediately rejected the idea. "That sinister little imp might be behind all of this."

"You think Gold is out to ruin our future marriage?" Emma chortled, speaking as if the idea is completely ridiculous. Saying those words aloud still made their whole situation even more surreal.  
"Not necessarily _**our**_ marriage," Regina gritted the word "our" out as if it actually pained her to speak of sharing something as intimate as marriage with the savior. Her eyebrows drawn down in concentration once more as she glanced at Emma. "But maybe the effects of our marriage."

Emma's head titled to the side slightly, pondering Regina's words before both her eyebrows raised in realization. "Reagan and Emily."

"They were born solely out of magic, possibly true love." Regina continued. "If there's one thing I know about Gold, it's that he doesn't enjoy having any threats in his midst."

"But they're completely harmless and also his granddaughters. You see how he treats Henry, why would they be any different?"

"Because future Mr. Gold and present Mr. Gold could be two different people." Regina claimed.  
"Well, I guess we only have one way of finding out. We should pick up the pace. When kids get bored they roam and the last thing we need is anymore magical mishaps." Emma scanned through the small dresses, coming up with a bright yellow frilly dress. "This is cute, right?"

Regina took one look at the selection and frowned. "You're not going to have my daughter walking around attracting honeybees because you decided to dress her resembling a huge dandelion."

Emma took another look at the dress, pouting, then placed it back among the others. This might take longer than necessary.

As she expected, Regina continued to disagree with each piece of clothing she picked out but the two somehow managed to settle on a nice amount of outfits for their girls. After stepping out the store, on their way to Emma's car, both came to an abrupt halt when they came face to face with none other than Henry and Neal walking down the street.

"Mom...?" Henry's face read complete confusion, his eyebrows drawn together as he looked between the two women. "Mom?"

"Oh. Hey, kid." Emma breathes out a greeting, her eyes darted over to Regina for a split second and she notices the clench in her jaw at the sight of Neal but the moment she looked at Henry her face softened. "What are you two doing over here?"

"We were actually just heading back your way. Something came up." Neal answered. He put an arm across Henry's shoulders, glancing over at Regina warily before looking back at Emma. "Is everything alright?"

"No, yeah. Everything is fine." Emma replied a tad to quickly earning a suspicious stare from her son.

"Were you two shopping together?" Henry had his eyes directed on the on the few bags clutched in Emma's hands that Regina made her carry.

"Uh, well-we were-" Emma stammered.

"This sounds like something that would rather be talked about without me standing here." Neal spoke.

"So he does have a brain." Regina snarked.

" _ **Regina**_." Emma put a hand out to silence any other harsh remark.

Neal chose to ignore the comment, settling for ruffling Henry's hair with a smile before walking away in the opposite direction. Once Emma made sure he was out of sight, she shared a knowing look with Regina who hesitated shortly before nodding. A look that communicated that neither of them were comfortable lying to their son.

"I think we all need to talk."

* * *

Reagan flipped through each DVD case that deemed appropriate for children around Emily's age. While her little sister busied herself by attempting to braid Reagan's thick black hair, Reagan had been seated cross legged on the floor whilst searching for a fun cartoon they could both enjoy. All the movies appeared boring and old in her eyes.

"What the hell are Aristocats?" She questioned aloud, face scrunching in confusion before carelessly tossing the movie aside with the rest of the rejects. Her head lifted at the sound of a key turning in the lock of the front door.

Bags brushing against each other could be heard coming from the foyer when the door clicked closed. "Reagan, Emily?" Regina's voice called out.  
"In here." Reagan responded before she looked back down at the DVD cases in her hand, occasionally flipping it over to read the back. When she heard footsteps, she didn't glance up but she did notice that Emily stopped styling her hair. "Mom, you should really get some new-" The minute she lifted her stare to the people in front of her, her sentence trailed off and her blue eyes widened at the sight of her big-well, little brother standing in the room. Inside she's completely panicking, already fearing that she screwed up once again. "Did I say Mom? Because I totally meant Mayor Mills and Sheriff Swan who have graciously taken care of me and my younger sister until our parents get back from-"

"Reagan," Emma laughed softly, putting an end to her daughter's rambling. "It's okay. We explained everything to him on the way here."

Reagan instantly relaxed. "Oh, thank god." She breathed a heavy sigh of relief, hunching over dramatically with her hand placed over her heart. "That would've been messy." Pushing herself onto her feet and regaining her height, Reagan first took notice of how short an 11 year old Henry is especially in comparison to her; there has to be at least a five inch height difference.

"Henry, these are your sisters." Emma placed a hand atop of his head. "Reagan and Emily."

"Hi." Henry greeted, his regular wide tooth smile on his face.

"Oh my god, I had no idea you were so adorable at this age." Reagan gaped. "Your voice is so high. It literally matches your height and I'm totally holding myself back from pinching your cheeks right now because they look so soft kind of like marshmallows." She continued gush over her little _big_ brother. Being so used to older Henry, who towers over everyone in the family, she finally got a chance to take in having a role reversal and it felt great.

"Uh, thanks?" Henry glanced up at Emma as if awaiting for her to confirm that that's a compliment but he only received an amused smile. Someone tugging at the sleeve of his coat caught his attention. He looked down and saw Emily's big brown eyes staring up at him.

"You have lots of cool toys in your room. I played with some but I made sure to put it back. Can you show me some more cool stuffs?" Emily asked, leaning her chin on the crook of Henry's arm while casually using the limb to swing back and forth.

"Sure. I can show you some comic books if you like." Henry offered.

Emily nodded vigorously, a wide dimpled smile on her face. "Let's go!" Using all the strength she could muster, Emily used both hands to tug a laughing Henry in the direction of the stairs.

Reagan made a move to follow the two only to come to a stop when Emma gently grabbed her arm. She looked at her mother, both eyebrows raised in question. "Would you mind filling us in on something? It'll only take a second."

"Sure. What do you need?"

"How would you describe your relationship, as well as Emily's, with Mr. Gold?" Regina asked, wringing her hands together.

"Grandpa Gold? Our relationship is like any typical grandfather to granddaughter relationship. Sure he can be a grumpy old man sometimes and he tends to poke Henry in the side with his cane," Reagan laughed softly, eyes drifting to stare down at the floor and lingering there as memories flashed through her mind. Emma smiled and glanced over at Regina who's doing the same. "But that's only when Henry's teasing us usually about him being taller than us. He would like casually rest his arm on the top of my head and...and..." She suddenly trailed off and bit down on her bottom lip. " _Oh_ , look at that. I'm making myself sad again." Reagan laughed but her voice betrayed her by quivering.

In unison, Regina and Emma took a step forward to comfort their daughter but she put a hand out to halt their actions.

"I'm fine." She quickly assured, flashing them a small closed mouth smile. Something about comfort released unwanted tears and once the downpour started it would take forever to stop. Taking a deep breath before exhaling to calm her shaky nerves, Reagan blinked a few times to clear her eyes and she was back to normal. "Got a little nostalgic there, sorry." She cleared her throat. "What made you ask that?"

"We just wanted to rid a few suspects, that's all." Regina decided to answer. "Your grandfather has a bit of a reputation in this time."

Reagan nodded in understanding. "Since we're done here, I'm going to go upstairs and squish Henry's cute little face together." She announced before turning around and heading toward the stairs.

"Be gentle, Reagan. The kid's delicate." Emma called after her.

"No promises!"

Once she descended up the stairs, Emma turned to face Regina. "Now that Gold is out of the equation, we can really use his help with all of this."

Regina reluctantly agreed, nodding shortly and eliciting a low sigh through her nose. She hated going to Gold for help-frankly, she hated to admit that she needed anyone's aid. "We'll go first thing tomorrow. For now let's focus on getting everyone situated for the rest of the evening."

Emma raised an eyebrow. "Is that your way of telling me to stay?"

"That's my way of telling you that you're not leaving me to care for all three children while you have the rest of the day off." Regina retorted. "Now make yourself useful and put those clothes away."

Emma rolled her eyes but still complied. She can already tell that today is going to be a long day.

* * *

"Who's that?" Emily's short finger pressed down on the page of the comic book Henry held in both hands for them to view. They were seated at the edge of his bed, Emily resting her cheek on his arm as she scanned the page full of drawn characters. Reagan's walking around his room observing each object Henry possessed with a keen interest.

"That's Thor. He's a superhero and also a powerful God that can control the weather like thunder and stuff." Henry explained.

"If he's so powerful how come he needs that big hammer?" Emily pointed out, placing her finger on the page once more.

"That's how he controls the weather. The hammer is enchanted."

Emily giggled making Henry smile. "That's silly. Older you, Reagan, Mom and Mommy are superheroes and they don't need a big hammer."

"I'm a superhero in your time?" There's such a large amount of hope in Henry's voice that Reagan's heart swelled and she had to eavesdrop so she can hear Emily's response.

"Mmhm." Emily hummed happily, lifting her stare up to smile at Henry. "Older you makes all the monsters and bad dreams go away. And when I get stuck on top of the monkey bars you get me down. And when something is very high, like the cookie jar, you lift me up so I can get it."

Henry almost rejected Emily's idea of a hero until he realized that she's right. Although he rather have a special power, having someone see regular acts of kindness as him being a hero is just as good. "I guess I'm pretty cool in the future, huh? So what's it like in the future?" He directed the question to Reagan just as she languidly picked up one of the action figures positioned on his shelf. "Are there hover boards and stuff like that?"

Reagan smiled at the childlike excitement evident in Henry's voice. Placing the toy back in its original spot, she turned to face him with two fingers held up. "Two words. Sky walkers." She put down each finger after each word was said. Moving across the floor to where Henry and Emily sat, Reagan plopped down atop of the blue comforter then shifted so that she lay on her back with her head leaning partly off the edge of the bed, knees bent. "They're these like motor devices that you can ride standing up and they're controlled just by leaning forward and back. I heard it's like floating on air."

"Awesome." Henry commented, a lopsided grin on his face. He glanced at Reagan for a moment, lips parted as if he's going to say or ask something but he hesitates for a few seconds. "Are my moms married in the future?"

Reagan nodded. "It must be so weird for you, huh? I honestly don't know how you dealt with the constant fighting. I had no idea was this intense. But I guess that's only because I'm so used to seeing them less...hostile toward one another."

"Yeah. I think they fight so much because they're a lot alike."

"Stubborn." Both children said knowingly in unison without much thought. They laughed at their intersected sentences.

"So you're okay with all of this?"

"Yeah, well-I mean...I guess I kind of had hoped that Emma would marry my Dad." Henry admitted with a slight shrug. He then flashed Reagan a small smile. "But this is just as good. I rather have them married than trying to murder each other. And plus, I've always wanted siblings." Three small tugs on the sleeve of his shirt brought his attention back to the little girl seated next to him.

"Do you ever feel lonely because you don't have me and Reagan to play with like older Henry does?" Emily questioned.

"It can get lonely sometimes." Henry's answer caused Reagan pull herself up, dark hair sprawling across her shoulders and chest as she moved to rest on her forearms. Their family tree probably surpasses any other family tree in the world, how could Henry ever feel lonely? Her questioning stare communicated for Henry to elaborate. "Everyone is usually busy with adult stuff or trying to make me pick a side. And if my-our Moms get put in the same room all they do is argue with one another and it's like-"

"You're not even there?" Reagan finished for him, a look of sympathy displayed on her features.  
"Yeah. Exactly." Henry appeared surprised that Reagan understood so easily. "How'd you know?"

"Other than my incredible sisterly ability that allows me to read your mind," Reagan joked to ease the upcoming tension that may come along with their conversation. She knew she succeeded when Henry laughed. "I got a spoonful of that yesterday and this morning and it definitely sucks. I'm sorry you have to deal with that on a regular basis."

"It did stop for a little while. And then Cora came to town and things started to go back to how they used to be." Henry explained. "She died a couple of days ago."

"What?" Reagan found herself whispering grimly at the information. She had no idea Regina recently lost her mother nor did she pick up on the signs that anyone would show when losing a loved one. There's this agonizing tugging feeling yanking at her heart at the thought of the amount of pain her mother is going through _**alone.**_ Reagan then gasped at a realization, sitting straight up. "Mom told me about this time. That's why things are so heated between them, of course. Emmy," She caught her little sister's eyes. "You know what this calls for?"

Emily's head tilted to the side as she thought. A few seconds later she gasped excitedly, brown eyes filled with light as they widened. "Family fort night!"

"What's that?" Henry asked.

"Basically an intervention without the whole intense going around in a circle thing. When things are going bad within our family, in the future, we build a really huge fort that takes up like half the living room. Everyone has to sleep in this fort and once you're inside the fort you can only act and talk positively for the rest of the night." Reagan explained.

"It sounds fun but I don't think our Moms will agree to that."

Reagan grinned. "Don't worry. I have my ways."


	6. Chapter 6

Sometime around 8 pm, when the sky had darkened until it was a deep shade of purple painted with small hints of glittering stars, Regina found herself standing in the kitchen cleaning leftover dirty dishes from dinner. Emma had offered her assistance but Regina instantly dispelled the idea; something about expensive plates and Emma having butterfingers. So instead Emma busied herself with rounding up the children for bed leaving Regina in a position she's accustomed to; being alone. That was until her ears picked up the sound of feet padding lightly against the tile floor, walking in the direction of the kitchen. For a moment she halted all actions, settling for craning her neck slightly to glance at the whoever is nearing the kitchen entrance. It was when Reagan trotted in, silk black hair pushed behind her ears and wearing plaid pajamas, that Regina's face softened from its usual hard mask.

"Hey, do you need help with anything?"

A smile curved the corners of her mouth as she returned her attention back to the task at hand. "That's quite alright, dear. I'm almost done."

Still, Reagan chose to draw closer until she stood at her mother's side where she leaned the upper half of her body on the black marble counter. For a moment she remained silent, twirling strands of her wavy hair whilst glancing at Regina as she thought of a way to bring up such a sensitive topic.

"...Mom..?"

"Hmm?" Regina turned to look at her, eyebrow raised in question.

"Um, Henry..he told me about what happened to Cora." At the mention of her mother's name Regina unintentionally froze, her eyes leaving Reagan's face momentarily. "I just wanted to know if you were feeling okay."

Regina indistinctly took a deep breath before resuming her actions. "I like to think I am." She said with such a forced smile that Reagan pouted, sensing the hurt hidden beneath the surface of the sentence.

"You don't talk about her much. I've always wondered why but I didn't want to pry." Reagan admitted.

"Well, me and my mother didn't exactly have the perfect relationship; one that's worth telling to my children." She explained. "I suppose my future self only wanted to spare you the details of my troubled past with her."

"Did you two fight a lot?"

Although that's not how Regina would put it, she nodded anyway as she began to put away the dishes. "We butted heads from time to time. My mother wished for me to follow in her path but I wanted to make my own. It seems that she couldn't understand that."

"And you still loved her?"

Regina smiled dolefully, hands gripping the kitchen sink as she looked at her daughter."You know..." She visibly gulped, seemingly pushing down the bubble forming in her throat. "We don't always have to like our mothers and that's okay. But, despite our efforts to detach, there's always going to be something within our hearts that can't help but love them." Her eyes casted downward.

"Well..." Reagan started softly, capturing Regina's eyes once more. "I like and love you." She smiled right before wrapping her arms around her mother's torso, her head resting just below Regina's collarbone.

At first Regina was taken slightly aback by the sudden hug, but by natural instinct she automatically wrapped her arms around Reagan. Smoothing her hand down Reagan's soft hair, a gentle smile tugged the corners of her mouth as she allowed her cheek to rest atop of Reagan's head. She drew in a deep, shuddering breath before exhaling it at the overwhelming feeling of genuine love and comfort.

"Regina." At the sound Emma's voice calling her name they pulled away, Regina unconsciously kept her hand resting in Reagan's hair.

In came Emma, appearing slightly worn out, with Emily's hand in hers. The little girl still had juice stains on her face from dinner and at that Regina frowned. "Why is her face still a mess?"

"Because she refuses to take a bath. She wants both of us to be there with her." Emma explained and Reagan snorted out a laugh.

"I'm not surprised. You two spoil her." She pointed out. Emily playfully stuck out her tongue at her big sister whilst hugging Emma's leg and Reagan did the same in return. "While you two are dealing with that. I'm going to find Henry so we can build that fort." She made a move to exit the kitchen.

Regina's brows furrowed. "Fort? What-"

Emily's small hand grabbed at Regina's and began to pull. "Come on, Mom! We have to go make bubbles!"

Reagan grinned to herself as Emily practically dragged the pair out of the kitchen. She made sure the two were out of sight before quickly going to find Henry who happened to be in the living room already seated on the couch.

"Hey, Henry." As she walked over to where he sat, he looked up in question. Stopping in front of him, she leaned over with a playful grin on her face. "You wanna help me with the fort?"

Henry's face lit up. "Sure. How?"

"Grab all the sheets, blankets and pillows you can find. This is going to be big."

* * *

Emma sat on the edge of the tub, hands massaging soap into the mess of brown curls on Emily's head and occasionally sculpting it into a mohawk. Regina settled for positioning herself on the floor for better access to help Emily get cleaned up faster but the little girl seemed to be in no rush to get out as she occupied herself with squeezing water in and out of a yellow rubber duckie.

From the corner of her eye, Regina spotted Emma frowning at their daughter's hair."Why are you making that face?"

"How come not one of them came out blonde? Emily and Henry both have brown hair and Reagan has your hair color."

"Reggie says it's because you have weak gym-epics." Emily stated nonchalantly while still playing with her toy.

Regina couldn't stop the chuckle that escaped her throat meanwhile Emma pouted in evident offense. "You mean genetics, baby girl. And that's not entirely true. Emily has your chin," She tickled underneath her daughter's chin, eliciting a small giggle from her that made both mothers smile. "And your nose." She bopped Emily on the nose.

Emma discreetly watched Regina, secretly enjoying seeing her without the mayoral mask she puts on everyday. "Yeah, you're right." She agreed with a small smile that she thought was unnoticeable as washed the rest of the shampoo out of Emily's hair.

Regina eyes squinted in suspicion at Emma. "What's that face?"

"Hm? What face?" Emma pressed her lips into a thin line, avoiding Regina's piercing eyes.

"You were making a face."

"Everyone's face makes faces, Regina."

Regina's eyes narrowed into slits and she continued to study Emma for a few more seconds before pushing herself off the floor. "I'm going to get her pajamas."

Emma nodded. Once Regina exited the bathroom Emily had started to giggle, bringing Emma's eyes to her big brown ones gleaming in amusement.

"What are you giggling at?" She questioned playfully, lightly poking Emily's stomach.

"You were smiling at Mom." She teased.

 _This kid catches on to everything,_ Emma thought as her lips parted to make an excuse but only an unconvincing, airy laugh came out. "No, I was smiling at you."

Emily kept on giggling. Still smiling, she bit down on her bottom lip and shook her head, her wet curls bouncing around. "No no no. I saw you, Mommy. It's okay, I think she looks pretty when she smiles too."

Emma's could feel the blood rushing to her face and before she could calm down Regina walked into the bathroom. When she caught sight of Emma's flushed face her eyebrows drew downward. "Miss Swan, are you alright?"

Emma cleared her throat and stood up to collect herself. "Yeah-oh yeah. I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"You're as red as a cheery."

"I-um-I'm just-"

"I would like to get out now." Emily announced, taking Regina's attention off Emma who sighed in relief at the momentary distraction.

Regina set down the pajamas on top of the hamper so that she could lift Emily out of the tub and place her on the bath mat where she proceeded to wrap a white, fluffy towel around Emily's so that it covered both her wet hair and body.

Emma watched Regina continue to interact with Emily. The way she ruffled her hair dry through the towel whilst scrunching her nose to make the little girl laugh, how careful she is when helping Emily get dressed; it would've been hard to guess that this is the same woman who was raining terror only a few weeks ago. And as Emma continued to watch Regina smile adoringly at their daughter, something in the back of her mind told her that she wouldn't mind this being her future.

"You bought her that?" Emma examined the koala onesie Emily's sporting in amusement.

"I thought it was cute." Regina replied, securing the front of the onesie before scooping Emily up in her arms and standing up in front of the mirror. "Look," She flipped the koala face hoodie over Emily's head then pointed to the mirror. "Do you know what animal you're dressed as?"

"A koala!" Emily reached up with both hands to squeeze the ears sticking out of the hood.

"That's 're so smart." Regina praised, bouncing Emily in her arms.

"Did you know that koalas give really really tight hugs? Like this."Emily demonstrated by wrapping her tiny legs and arms around her, pressing her face to the side of Regina's temple as she hugged her tightly. "Future you and future mommy cuddle like this all the time." At that statement both women looked at one another only quickly look away.

"We should go downstairs and see what Reagan's up to." Emma suggested in order to avoid the oncoming awkwardness.

"Right."

* * *

"This is good enough right?" Reagan stepped back, hands on her hips, examining the mass amount of blankets and pillows taking up half of the floor.

"Yeah. We just need a roof." Henry stood up from his place on the floor where not too long ago he was testing the level of comfort. He gave it two thumbs up.

"Leave that up to me." Reagan rubbed her hands together then shook them out. Focusing on the bundle of sheets in the leftover pile, she hovered her hands over them and Henry watched in amazement as they lifted into the air. The tip of the sheets twisted together then tied around one of the bars of the chandelier hanging in the living room, giving the fort the appearance of a large tent.

"That's so cool." Henry complimented, turning to face his sister. "It must be great having magic."

Reagan shrugged. "Eh, it has its perks but it can be a bit of a hassle sometimes."

"What do you mean?"

"I committed arson by accident like 20 times when I was 8. By the way that means I lit a lot of stuff on fire. And people expect so much of you when you have magic." Reagan explained. She glanced down at her brother, flashing him a small smile. "You don't need magic, Henry. You're just as awesome without it."

"Thanks." Henry bounced once on his toes then turned back to look at the fort. "What are those jars for again?" He pointed to the couple of jars spread at the sides of the fort, each holding a tap on light inside of it that's hidden around glittering, thick construction paper with small holes poked in it.

A sly smile curved the side of Reagan's mouth. "You'll see."

The sound of Emily babbling about something caught their attention. When they stepped inside the living room their reaction was priceless.

"Welcome to family fort night." Reagan greeted, expressing her excitement in the form of jazz hands.

"Is that my blanket? On the floor?" Regina asked in horror.

Emily wiggled herself out of her mother's arms so that she could walk up to Reagan with a large frown on her face. "You made the fort without me." She whined.

"Sorry, Emmy. You were upstairs getting all koala-fied." She laughed at the fact that Emily looks like a sad little care bear standing there pouting with folded arms and furry ears.

"What's family fort night?" Emma asked despite the name being self explanatory and Reagan had to bite back the witty comment of it being just that.

"We sleep in this fort as a family for the night whether it's just for fun or it's because _some people_ can't stop fighting." She emphasized the second half of the sentence with an eye squinting smile.

Emma immediately assumed that Regina is internally cringing at the thought of sharing a space with her. "You know, kid, I would love too but I have a job to do and a town to protect."

"Nothing happens in Storybrooke at night." Reagan argued.

"That's only partly true. And besides, you forget that this isn't my house." Emma countered.

Eyes fixated on Regina. "You'll let Emma stay the night, right Mom? Please?" Reagan nudged Henry in his side signaling him to plead with her, having the knowledge that Regina couldn't possibly resist them both.

"Yeah. Please, Mom?" Henry joined in.

Emma glanced over at Regina. She didn't want to intrude and make Regina uncomfortable in her own home; somewhere she considers a safe place. "Guys, I reall-"

"You can stay." Regina voice came out slightly more pitched than usual causing her to clear it. "I mean..as long as you help clean all of this up in the morning."

Emma smiled then turned to look at their kids. "It's a deal then." She took off her jacket leaving her in a tank top and jeans.

"But I think I'm going to sit this one out tonight." Regina announced earning three unexpected 'whats' in apparent objection from Reagan, Henry, and Emma. She figured that they didn't necessarily need her to be apart of their family night being that she most likely gives off the less fun parent vibe.

"No! You have to stay!" Emily protested, running over to wrap both of her arms around Regina's legs to keep her from going anywhere. Both of Regina's hands moved to rest on her back.

"That defies all the rules of family fort night." Reagan said.

"And I'm pretty sure they took every available blanket and pillow you have." Emma observed.

"Y-you want me to stay?"

Reagan smiled sadly the confusion in Regina's tone. It wasn't hard to detect that she isn't used to being wanted. "Of course." She answered softly.

Emily's chin rested just above Regina's knees as she smiled up at her. "You're our momma and every kid needs their momma to stay with them."

Regina could feel the tears building in her eyes but she blinked them away. This isn't a time to cry, this is a time to feel something she hasn't felt for a long time; happiness. "I suppose I should go change into something more...fitting for this occasion." She turned to Emma. "Um, would you like something to change into? I can't have your outside clothes putting germs on my nice clean blankets."

Disregarding the comment after the offer with a small eye roll, Emma nodded. "Thanks."

When the two went upstairs, Henry turned to Reagan. "I've never seen them get along like that."

"If I fix the past, you'll see a lot more of that when you grow up." Reagan replied, sighing afterward. Oh how she hoped she can.

* * *

After some reluctance on Regina and Emma's part in regards to the position they're going to lay in, next to one another, Reagan finally managed to get them to quit complaining by telling them the consequence of not abiding by the rules; being locked in a closet together until they cooperated. Reagan lay at the end, Henry next to her followed by Regina then Emma then Emily who's laying sideway so that she could rest her head on Emma's stomach.

The jars that Reagan placed in the fort turned out to be a homemade projector that made stars appear on the sheets when the lights turned off.

A low agitated sigh could be heard from Regina.

"Sorry." Emma apologized.

"That's the third time you jumped and elbowed me in my side tonight. Do I need to bound your limbs with magic?"

"It's all the hair...I keep thinking something is crawling on me." Emma admitted sheepishly.

"Perhaps you should consider getting a haircut."

"No that would be bad." Emily spoke. "Future Mom loves future Mommy's long hair. I heard her say it gives her something to pull on."

Emma snorted back a shocked laugh, Regina's jaw went slack and Reagan made a sound of disgust. At the moment Reagan wished she could trade places with Henry, who's sleeping, so she didn't have to hear that.

"I don't know what that means." Emily shrugged.

"I wish I didn't know what that means." Reagan cringed.

"Looks like I won't be getting a haircut anytime soon."

"Emma!"

"Mom! Please!"

Emma covered her grinning face as she shook with quiet laughter. "I'm sorry. I'm done. Change the subject."

Still cringing, Reagan took it upon herself to set a distraction before any unwanted images passed through her mind. Extending her arms, both hands balled in a fist, she curled her index and pinky finger on her right hand, connecting her left fist to her right with her thumb sticking out and casting the shadow of what appeared to be a cat.

"Hey, Emmy, wanna guess what animal I made?" She wiggled her thumb to make a wagging tail motion.

"A kitty!" She pointed in excitement at the shadow.

"I'm usually so bad at these." Reagan laughed. She looked over at Emma. "You're the pro of shadow puppets."

"Well I mean I made shadow puppets a lot during my time in foster care to entertain myself at night." Emma shrugged. Rolling her sleeves up, she began by raising one arm, bending it at the elbow, and bringing the tips of her fingers together so that they make a point. With her other hand, she spread her fingers wide and put the fleshy part of her palm on her bicep to create a swan.

Reagan scoffed playfully earning a grin from Emma. "Show off."

Another shadow in the form of a flapping bird was cast by Emily because honestly that's the only one she could make.

Regina's eyes continuously kept glancing back and forth between Emma's shadow and her hand formation. "How are you doing that?"

Emma couldn't help but be amused at the fact that Regina, a powerful sorceress, is stumped on the basic formation of a shadow puppet. "It's really easy actually. Here..." Scooting closer, their heads almost touching, Emma hesitantly reached for Regina's hand all the while looking at her to make sure she's okay with making contact. A small glance at her hand that switched to her face gave an answer. Reagan watched with a smile on her face. The way Emma's so shy and timid when touching Regina, being extra careful not to make her uncomfortable, reminded her of a school girl with a crush. And as her eyes slipped closed, surrounded by loved ones, she felt absolutely at home.


End file.
